Bloody head lice!

[Marching9x9]

My school age DD brought head lice back from school in about February. Or at least we realised in February, when we all started itching.

By March both DDs and me were riddled with them. DD2 is age 3.

Since then, I think we've got rid of them 2 or 3 times but then they reappear in droves. DD2 is now constantly scratching and getting so upset when I pick up the comb. I'm so gentle and she doesn't have long hair - it's just a horrible process.

I've spent a fortune - Vamousse, Full Marks, Hedrin ("once" - ha, right!), Lyclear, Derbac.

I use the Nitty Gritty comb every day now and yet the ones I get off her (and occasionally me) are huge.

Any ideas? I'm so tired of it. And DD2 increasingly distressed.

They don't like tea tree. I'd try a yes tree shampoo, I'd also change pillows and duvet to keep them away.

If you’ve got long hair then use straighteners to burn the fuckers. Your DDs hair will be too fine so wouldn’t recommend for them but at least you can help get yours under control.

It took about 5 months to get rid of them for DS and myself. He had really short hair too. I guess it’s really hard to get rid of the eggs. Keep going you will get there.

We are struggling with them here too. I've used about 4 different brands of treatments, plus endless combing and conditioning, yet still they persist. I've never had such major issues with them before! Sympathies!

Have you been washing sheets, towels, blankets, coats, cardigans etc when they come back? Online it says you don’t have to but I did when DD had them and we didn’t get them back.
We also all retreated a week after initially using the shampoo (as well as nit comb every night) even tho we couldn’t see any more lice the shampoo box said to do it so we did. Everyone in our house got treated whether they had visible lice or not.

Strip all soft furnishings and wash. Wash everything you can at 60 degrees. Shampoo the carpet. Keep nails really short and cleaned really often.

Good luck.

Teddies etc too.

Also for my 3 year old I did it in the bath with a ton of conditioner in her hair so it didn’t hurt. I managed to make it seem like we were using a magic comb but it may be a bit late for you to try that approach.

Ok -

Hedrin once in the bath

Then comb and comb (in the bath) with this other hedrin product for removing eggs?

Then this bit is crucial - you need someone to hold a torch or you get a head torch and you look at every single strand of hair (I'm not kidding) you then pull out each egg and squash it til it pops!

That should work!

If not I know someone who went somewhere and they heat treated and literally vacuumed the lice out?

It's years since I had this problem but DD was a nightmare with nits. This was the I not thing that worked, the electric comb that is, www.amazon.co.uk/Finito-Electronic-Lice-Comb-Chemical/dp/B06XL1H6WX/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=electric+nit+combs&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1598042298&sr=8-10 it zaps the nits as well as the lice.

Thanks - I'm feeling desperate enough to buy the electric thingy! And will get some tea tree oil.

I'm washing bedding etc and swapping it round so each set is cleaned and out of action for 48 hours CONSTANTLY.

I take slight comfort that I'm not being just incompetent and others have found it difficult too.

Yes there are head lice removal companies!

You need Prioderm, OP. Kills the fuckers and destroys the eggs, but I don't think you can get it in the UK anymore. I think you can get it from other European countries, check.online.
It smells really toxic but my lord it zaps the bastards.

I left the treatment on overnight. Stuck a shower cap on her hair then I combed every second day with conditioner then retreated her hair a week later and left over night again. Combed again every second day then retreated her hair a third time over night and they were all gone. Make sure her head is soaked in it so it suffocated every lice..if you kill them and retreat one then two weeks later you will of killed all the newly hatched lice before they can mature enough to start mating and laying eggs.

Also is there definitely no one else they can be getting caught from once you have treated yourselves?

I got rid of the fuckers with tea tree oil and coconut oil (I was abroad and didn't have anything else). Coconut oil can be left overnight and will stop the lice from sticking to the hair. A few drops of tea tree oil mixed with regular shampoo finished them off and I kept mixing tea tree oil with shampoo for a few weeks afterwards as a preventative measure for all of us.
They never came back.

@Scbchl We're in Scotland so schools are back and DD1 could be bringing them back again... but that's been quite recent and we've had them throughout lockdown.

I am even considering shaving DD2's head - it'll grow back by school 🙈

We shaved the kids' heads. You could see the live still hanging in there right close to the skull. Cue coconut oil + deet + tea tree oil.
Lice no more.

I had a Polish friend who said in Poland they douse the kids' heads in petrol and it kills them instantly just make sure you don't light up a fag while doing it.

@KaptainKaveman

I had a Polish friend who said in Poland they douse the kids' heads in petrol and it kills them instantly just make sure you don't light up a fag while doing it.

I'm sorry but that made me laugh so much.

This is one of the companies :

hairforceclinics.com/

We had nits in lockdown too and really struggled to get rid, the nitty gritty comb was really rough on their hair. Then I found this www.chc.org/chc-shop/ and we followed their advice to the letter and finally got rid of them. Their combs are good as you can see the tiny nits more easily and the leaflet explains exactly what to look for and what days to comb. No chemicals either. You have my sympathy, it was horrible and didn't last anywhere near as long as yours have!

I assume you are treating all the adults in the family too. Any adult, including grandparents, in close contact with the children can help the spread. This is why the problem is so hard to get rid of in families.

NitWits! Available on Amazon and probably some chemists. The only thing that worked on my kids, and we had a revolving door problem with headlice for over a year. They've never had them since using this stuff. It was developed by an Australian chemist who's also a mother.
Try it!

Wow

Rather selfishly I had hoped that lockdown would mean elimination of nits as noome would be bringong them back to school!

How regularly are you combing?